HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Unpleasant experience in Vietnam

Cockerel farm rears up

A tram or cable car for Pattaya

Stray dogs a nuisance

ATM users beware

Unpleasant experience in Vietnam

Dear Editor,

My wife and I spend about five months in South East Asia each year. Because of the “strange” visa regulations in Thailand, when our ninety day visa ran out at the end of February, we decided that, rather than doing a pointless “visa run”, we would take the opportunity to visit Vietnam.

Five days after our arrival in Saigon (HCMC), my wife’s tightly fastened bum-bag was snatched whilst we were crossing the road in front of the Metropole Hotel. You should understand that there are five million motorcycles in Saigon and they “swarm” around you as you cross the road. The staff of the hotel told us that bag-snatching is rampant and the manager seemed very sympathetic – “Please use our phone,” he said. When we got the bill, not only had the calls been charged at full rate but so had a reverse charge call. We were now short of money so as a quick fix, we decided to change some baht into Vietnamese Dong. At the Exchange Bureau, we were offered a rate of 330. This was low but we accepted – when the money was handed over, the exchange had been conducted at 300.

We headed for the west coast, Nha Trang, where we stayed for a few days. Just before we left we hired a Cyclo, a bicycle that takes two people plus the rider. We asked him to take us to the end of the beach road and agreed a price. We had only gone a few hundred metres before he turned off the beach road towards the town and refused to turn back. He only stopped when I yelled at him at the top of my voice.

Our sincere apologies to the nice pleasant people that we met but our overall opinion of the Vietnamese is that they are aggressive, rude and predatory, they regard the tourist, not as someone who has come to help their economy but as fair game for lying, cheating and stealing – anything to separate the tourists from their money. The police are almost non-existent and are certainly not there to protect the tourist. The hotel advised us not to report the bag snatch to the police because it was a waste of time.

If you are thinking of going to Vietnam, our advice is don’t.
Brian Curtis
UK

Cockerel farm rears up

Dear Editor;

Maybe you can advise whether ‘cockfighting’ is a legal sport in Thailand. I have been told that it is. I reside in a large condominium complex off Soi Buakao and over the past six to eight months a cockerel farm has appeared with buildings being constructed on a weekly basis to house the hundreds being reared.

I have personally witnessed cockfights taking place with many Thai men in attendance cheering on their favourite. I am sure but have not witnessed personally, that gambling on the victor does take place.

I know from reading your paper and seeing reports on the TV news programmes that gambling on cards/high-low etc. is illegal as the police are regularly confiscating a pack of cards, B20 in cash and fining the players. Surely then this ‘cockfighting’ sport and gambling thereon must be against the law?

A few months ago a letter was written to the city council regarding this problem and a verbal reply was given that an injunction was being sought to close this site down. Two months have passed and the farm is just getting bigger and bigger.

I am greatly concerned over the possibility of an outbreak of Avian Flu (H5N1) virus being created and the fact that this farm is right in the middle of nine condominium/apartment complexes and in the heart of Pattaya, leave cause for concern. Many local children play on the dirt grounds around this farm with the cockerels running loose all day. If Pattaya City Council don’t care then who will?

Bird Flu is a killer! We do not want it rearing its head in Pattaya, the no. 1 tourist centre in Thailand.

It seems, historically, that your newspaper is the only one who cares and maybe someone reading this letter at the city council will look more closely into this. The police most certainly should. If the situation is allowed to continue it will be my intention to write to the governor of Chonburi, agricultural minister of Thailand, Bangkok Post and anyone else who has the welfare of the Thai people to heart.

Yours hopefully
Very Concerned Farang Resident

A tram or cable car for Pattaya

Editor;

Why don’t they put a track down going Beach Road, and turning back going all the way down Soi 2, just for starters, then carry on from there to other places as demand can be seen? This is where the major build up of traffic is. The majority of us can walk down the connecting sois. A tram or cable car would carry 20-30 people instead of 2-4 like most baht buses usually do. The tram would charge one price for all, and they can leave a few baht buses out there, but this system would not beat up the road as you are seeing right now. This would not take a lot of time to do, the cost would be there of course, but for Pattaya to grow at its current pace, I see this as the only solution. Pattaya town hall should be thinking further down road themselves, and not be so short sighted.
Dave in California

Stray dogs a nuisance

Editor,
Having just returned from my fifth vacation in Pattaya, I wonder when someone is going to address the stray dog problem. Dodging whoopsies and witnessing dogfights over mangy bitches in heat is not a pleasant sight for any tourist.
Yours sincerely,
Lonnie Webber
New Zealand

ATM users beware

Editor;
Just returned to the UK after 4 weeks in Pattaya to find my ATM card had been cloned and 56,000 baht taken from my account in 10 withdrawals. My card only left the safety deposit box in the hotel whenever I wanted to make a withdrawal and was only ever used at ATMs.

It wasn’t the hotel staff using it as one of the withdrawals was made within 5 minutes of a genuine one at the other end of town. So someone has a camera or a gadget on an ATM in Central Road, Soi Buakao or 2nd Road.
Please warn your readers,
Mystery Trevor

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